Sergio Ermotti will return to the helm of the banking giant UBS in early April, following leading it from 2011 to 2020. At the time, he had transformed the traditional bank into a global wealth management giant, oriented towards the ultra-rich, in particular in Asia.
His new challenge will be daunting: to succeed in integrating his now ex-rival Credit Suisse.
When the Ticino man took over the reins of UBS in November 2011, the number one Swiss bank was not in good shape. Three years earlier, the Confederation had taken a 10% stake and depreciated the value of the group by tens of billions of dollars in toxic assets, following its rescue at 60 billion dollars.
Unknown to the general public when he started at UBS, Sergio Ermotti might already boast of a solid banking experience in the service of the American bank Merrill Lynch then of the Italian Unicredit.
In April 2011, the Luganese returned to Switzerland to join the general management of UBS and take care of the group’s activities in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Under his direction, the bank with the three keys was one of the most consistently profitable and best valued banks in Europe, explained the Financial Times at the time.
Star of the Paradeplatz
He then succeeds Oswald Grübel, who resigned in September following the scandal caused by a London broker who had caused the bank to lose $2.3 billion a year earlier. The Ticino will then have to manage the consequences, while facing a new case in France.
In April 2012, the Paris prosecutor’s office opened a judicial investigation, in particular for laundering tax fraud, suspecting UBS of having set up double accounting to hide capital movements between France and Switzerland.
Leaving for Swiss Re
In 2019, the group was sentenced to a record fine of 3.7 billion euros. In 2021, the establishment with the three keys is sentenced on appeal to pay 1.8 billion euros for having set up a “system” aimed at “facilitating” the tax evasion of wealthy French taxpayers between 2004 and 2012 then appeals in cassation.
At the bank’s management, Sergio Ermotti is betting on digitization, which complements traditional channels and allows an increase in volumes, he rejoices in 2018. If expectations are exceeded in terms of wealth management, cost-saving measures are still implemented.
In October of the same year, he spent nearly a year’s salary to buy back one million UBS shares, for 13 million francs and above all, let it be known, to show that he was convinced of his strategy.
The press echoes the desire to leave of the man who is nicknamed the George Clooney of Paradeplatz. On November 1, 2020, he was replaced by the Dutchman Ralph Hamers, former boss of the Dutch banking group ING, and was called upon to chair the board of directors of Swiss Re.
Solid results in the third quarter, notably supported by exceptional contributions but also a good performance of the markets, allow him to end his mandate with a bang as head of the number one Swiss bank.
During his nine years in office, he will have pocketed more than 100 million francs.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats/awp
